Ricky 'Hitman' Hatton's trainer will be in opposite corner as Flintoff weighs in for heavyweight boxing debut against Dawson

Richard Dawson will have Ricky Hatton's trainer in his corner tomorrow night when he fights former England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff.

Bob Shannon stepped in at the last minute after the American's trainer was unable to obtain a visa to travel from Oklahoma for the bout at the Manchester Arena.

Flintoff, who has lost three-and-a-half stone for the bout, weighed in today at 216lb, considerably lighter than the slightly shorter Dawson who tipped the scales at 241lb.

Squaring up: Andrew Flintoff weighs in at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester ahead of his heavyweight debut against Richard Dawson

Patriotic: Flintoff sported a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts as he stripped off and jumped on the scales

Relaxed: Flintoff looked assured as he prepares to step into the ring for the first time at the MEN Arena on Friday night

The 23-year-old American was
hand-picked by Flintoff's mentor Barry McGuigan and brings with him an
unbeaten record after three professional fights.

But Flintoff, 34, believes his gruelling training regime will give him the advantage in front of an expected crowd of 5,000.

'I've been working with Shane and
Barry and they've got me in unbelievable shape,' he said. 'It's a
different type of training to when I was playing cricket. I've done the
rounds in sparring and I'm looking forward to tomorrow night.

Mutual respect: An embrace and a handshake between the two antagonists after the weigh-in

'The last four-and-a-half-months have been the hard work and I want to go out and enjoy it.

'It was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I played cricket until I was 31 and wasn't ready to sit back and do nothing.

'It's had its moments, especially in
some of the training and sparring sessions, but I've never thought about
packing it in. I've asked myself why I'm doing it but the hardest
things you do are the most rewarding.'

Uncompromising: Dawson has pledged to turn the former England cricket captain's debut into a nightmare

Flintoff, who was not dropped during
his 300 rounds of sparring, insists he has not thought about whether his
new career will extend beyond his maiden bout.

'First and foremost my focus is on
tomorrow night and after that we'll decide where it's going. It would be
dangerous to look past tomorrow night.

'Richard has come over and my
attention is on that. It was the same with cricket in the last part of
my career, I didn't look too far ahead.'

Dawson, meanwhile, has promised to knock Flintoff out and enjoy an early night on first visit to these shores.

'I'm here to win and and Mr Freddie is here to win,' he said. 'I respect Freddie but I'm going to attack him.

'I put pressure on; pressure wins fights and I'm here to win and get it over with.'